ALLEGED ARSONIST BLAMES ABUSE

The homeless man charged with setting a small fire inside a downtown church on Palm Sunday told police he was driven by rage over being abused by priests in New York in the 1980s, court records state.

The man, Nestor Ramos, 40, also said he returned to St. Mary's Church on March 20 to start another fire in the sanctuary. He was caught on the altar by police before he could light anything.

Ramos, charged with first-degree arson, was arraigned Wednesday in Superior Court in New Britain, assigned a public defender and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before his next court appearance on April 25. He was being held with bail set at $100,000.

According to court records, Ramos said he was in a Boy Scout troop and in his mid-teens when he was molested by a succession of three priests at a church he identified only as St. Agustus in New York.

However, nothing in the court records verifies anything about the alleged abuse or even confirms the existence of the church.

In a brief interview Wednesday, Christopher Eddy, Ramos' attorney, said defense preparation for the case will include investigation of the claims of abuse.

In the arrest warrant, Ramos said: "I go to church every week, but I go to different ones so that the spirits of the past don't find me."

According to Ramos, he tore pages from a small church prayer book and used a lighter to start the fire. He also found a blanket in a nearby confessional and tossed that on the fire, but the flames went out, so he left, the warrant said.

According to the arrest warrant, a security camera in the church, installed after several thefts, had images of Ramos entering and leaving, which is how church officials were able to identify him as a suspect when he returned to the building on March 20.

The statement Ramos gave to police after his arrest ends with him saying: "If I leave today, I will most likely go back to a church and try to start another fire. I am sorry but I can't help myself. This is the truth and I am sorry for what I have done."